1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus with a detachable recording head.
2. Related Background Art
Among ink jet recording apparatus, there are already available monochromatic printers and color printers, both employing an ink jet recording head, as already known, with a uniform array of plural nozzles. Such recording head has generally been associated with an unevenness in density in the recording of a halftone image, due to errors in the ink discharge amount of different nozzles or in the ink depositing positions thereof. Such errors do not affect the print quality significantly in monochromatic printers used principally for character printing, but are a serious problem in color printers employed for color graphics or ordinary pictures.
Since such uneveness in density is specific to each recording head, it is too tedious to prepare the recording apparatus in consideration of the characteristic of each recording head, and the recording apparatus will become unable to match the recording head when it is replaced in the future.
It is therefore conceivable to incorporate, in each detachable (or disposable) head, data for correcting the unevenness in density of said head, and to control the image recording according to said data. Such configuration will enable satisfactory image recording matching the recording head, even in case of replacement thereof, without any change in the recording apparatus.
However, such configuration is still associated with a drawback that such advantage cannot be obtained if the data in the recording head are destructed for some reason, or if a recording head, not originally intended for the recording apparatus, is mounted.